Saturday, March 31, 2007

Sri Lanka army's deep penetration unit known as the Long Range Recon Patrol (LRRP) has stepped up its attacks on LTTE targets during the last few weeks. We cannot disclose any detail about the targets taken due to security reasons but we can confirm that several strikes targeting senior LTTE cadres and intelligence wing members were successfully conducted during the last few weeks.

LTTE has dispatched several of it's elite units to hunt down LRRP commando units but they have not had any success so far. Tiger strongholds such as Mullaithivu which are guarded by hard core LTTE fighters have been subject to DPU strikes in the recent past too. Pro LTTE media has come up with false claims about DPU strikes on civilians in the hope to discourage LRRP activity in north.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets carried out bombing runs targeting several rebel bases in the northern province today. SLAF's MiG and Kfir bombers were used in the attack.

SLAF currently operates 10 Kfir Multirole fighters and 4 MiG 27 'Flogger' ground attack craft in its jet bomber fleet. 3 more MiGg27 jets and one MiG23 trainer craft is set to rejoin 5th jet squadron after an overhauling.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Advancing troops of the 7th Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) captured the main LTTE base in Kokkadicholai, yesterday night. Kokkadicholai was one of the few main rebel bases remaining in the embattled eastern province.

LTTE cadres who were manning the base fled as a large number of SLA soldiers advanced in multiple directions overrunning tiger defence lines in the process. SLA sources said that Kokkadicholai base contained well constructed buildings to which even modern air conditioning systems and other luxuries were installed.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) launched massive airstrikes over Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam positions in the eastern and northern provinces of Srilanka today. Airstrikes resumed after the LTTE carried out a surprise aerial attack on SLAF's main base at Katunayake. There was much speculation in pro LTTE media that the entire Kfir jet bomber fleet was destroyed in the attack.

According to the information we receive, no fighter aircraft were damaged in the incident. However 2 to 6 helicopters parked in hangars and several buildings on the Aeronautical Engineering Wing were damaged in the explosions.

However the Air Force carried out one of the most intense aerial raids after 2002 CFA, today. Kfirs of the 10th Fighter squadron at KAB, MiG27 fighters from 5th Jet Squadron at KAB, Mi24/36 helicopter Gunships from Minneriya AB carried out simultaneous air attacks on various tiger strongholds today.

Targets attacked today

LTTE intelligence base - Kanagarayankulam

Sea tiger base at Sudolaipidai - Mannar north

B-Route Camp - Thoppigala

Targets attacked yesterday

Sea tiger base - Wellankulam,Mannar North

Sea tiger base - Thibilikulam, Mullaithiv

Damages caused by these airstrikes are not yet known. However, SLAF sent a clear message to the LTTE who are upbeat after yesterday's partially successful airstrike; "We are still here. Nothing has changed."

Monday, March 26, 2007

Putting an end to wild rumors which surfaced after the LTTE airstrike on Katunayake Air Base (KAB) , Air Force MiG27 fighter jets pounded pre identified LTTE sea tiger base locations in the rebel held Mullaithiv area today evening. Few pro rebel media on the Internet falsely reported that SLAF's supersonic jet fleet was completely destroyed in the tiger airstrike.

LTTE air attack did not damage any fighter aircraft but 3 buildings which belong to the aeronautical engineering wing were slightly damaged due to explosions which followed after tiger aircraft dropped two explosives.

Four newly acquired MiG27 craft took part in today's sortie which targeted a series of sea tiger bases in Mullaithiv rebel stronghold. Damages caused by these attacks are not yet known.

The tiger air attack over the Katunayake military base today took everyone by surprise. LTTE used one or two light fixed wing aircraft to drop bombs on SLAF's main base at Katunayake where fighter squadrons are based on. Although no fighter jets were damaged, tigers were able to score 'propaganda points' which boosted the morale of their fighters and Eelam Diaspora alike . This unexpected development has opened a whole new front in the undeclared Eelam war 4.

The attack has not only worried the Srilankan government but has sent warning signals through the Indian authorities as well. IAF has deployed several civilian and military radars along the southern coast in the wake of these new developments. Their main concern is that the Microlights which the tigers posses have a range of 1000Km thus making several major Indian cities vulnerable to LTTE air attacks. An Indian nuclear reactor is also said to be located in an area within 1000KM range from Killinochchi.

The aircraft (or aircrafts) which took part in the operation has not been shot down. The fate of these crafts is still unknown. Did they land in Wanni? Were they ditched to the sea? Are they hidden somewhere close to Colombo for later use? There are too many unanswered questions.

SLAF now has a mission to accomplish. Somewhere in the north Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have built a functional runway. They may even have more functional aircraft. SLAF need to find the rebel airbase. Once they find it, Jet bomber fleet will take revenge.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out a bombing sortie on SLAF's main military base at Katunayake at 12.45AM today. The target of the attack is suspected to be 5th jet Squadron and 10th fighter squadron hangars located in the airbase. No fighter aircraft were damaged but 3 SLAF personnel were killed and 17 others received injuries.

Following the attack a lot of false propaganda has hit the web. Tamilnet has quoted their military spokesman saying ' aircraft with air to surface capability' attacked KAB. However DefenceNet learns that either motorized hang gliders or light aircraft (without combat capability) were used in a manual bombing run.

Meanwhile, BBC had initially reported that the Katunayake international airport came under attack. This is entirely false the the airport was not damaged nor a target of the attack.

SLAF's radar system indicated an unidentified aircraft 40 minutes before the attack took place. Whether the attackers returned to LTTE territory or whether they paradropped to a nearby area and hid the gliders (if any were used) is not yet clear.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Sri lanka Navy (SLN) 's deep sea missile vessels which destroyed two large tiger arms ships within one day, returned to their home base in Trincomalee last Friday. Four offshore patrol vessels were deployed in the eastern seas after receiving intelligence information [Source withheld] about the inbound tiger arms transport from Indonesia.

Navy's deep sea missile vessels engaged in the operation, SLNS Sayura, SLNS Samudura, SLNS Jaya Sagara and SLNS Nandimithra were given a warm welcome in the Trincomalee base when they returned from the eastern seas. All four ships had the Sri Lankan flag hoisted and the decks were decorated with various colorful designs.

Picure: SLNS Samudura Offshore Patrol Vessel

Some of the missile ships the SNL possess have the capability to fire the highly destructive "Barak" missile. However these missiles have not been added to the SLN inventory as of yet and therefore the SLN has to shoot at hostile vessels using medium-high armament fire. Addition of sea missiles to SLN inventory should give a huge boost to SLN's naval firepower.

LTTE's sea wing leader Soosei (Codename Oska Sera) has previously claimed that the "Final Battle' will be fought on the 'sea'. The LTTE will have to destroy Navy's Special Boat Squadron, Fast Attack Squadron and the Deep sea missile vessel fleet; the 3 most powerful units which form the core of SLN if this statement is to become reality. As long as the Navy has these formations intact, the LTTE will never be able to win the so called ' Final Battle'.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are gradually losing their control over territory in the eastern province as the advancing army troops continued to capture strategic points without heavy resistance. However, the military advance is progessing slowly to prevent civillian casualties. 800-1000 LTTE cadres are said to be trapped in the jungles of Thoppigala where their last major base in the Eastern province is located in.

In addition to the Gemunu Watch and Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) regiments , army has also deployed Commandos and Special Forces units specialized in jungle warfare in the Thoppigala offensive. Some of the Special Forces units have already infiltrated rebel defence lines and the LTTE's Jeyanthan brigade has not so far been able to pinpoint their location.

The trapped LTTE cadres made a desperate attempt to break the army formations by attacking 5 army camps located in the border last week. LTTE used it's 120MM mortars and 107MM Katyusha clones as supporting fire in the attack. However, the army was able to prevent the LTTE advance and tigers fled leaving behind 8 dead bodies. A total of 12 LTTE cadres were kiiled and further 30 were wounded in this attack.

The military expects to capture the entire Thoppigala area, including LTTE's B-Route and Barons Camps within the next 3 weeks.

Sri lanka army's offensive to capture the Madhu area and free nearly 5000 IDPs trapped in the vicinity of Madhu church has been temporarily halted due to stiff resistance by the tigers. Soldiers engaged in the main military advance have returned to original positions but several small groups consisting of specially trained units are still deployed in the no man's land. Troops had advanced 4km into LTTE held territory when heavy fighting broke out. The battle raged for 12 hours straight and the army took a tactical decision to halt the advance in order to prevent personnel losses. The Army was able to prevent heavy losses being incurred in an offensive where long range artillery support was not available (due to the fear of civilian casualties).

Army started the offensive when the LTTE shelled army FDLs and Omanthei checkpoint (Which is the only supply entrance to Wanni LTTE controlled region ,where thousands of civilians are trapped) using heavy weapons deployed in civilian settlements. A total of 9 soldiers were killed and 58 others were injured during this offensive. Out of the 58 injured, 48 soldiers received only minor injuries and they will soon rejoin the battle front within at least 2-3 days. Nearly 30 guerillas were killed and above 50 are said to be wounded. Army's Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment and Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) were used in this offensive.

It should be noted that the Army did not retreat with a tractor load of dead bodies as mentioned by several pro LTTE media. This was never a large scale offensive aimed at capturing territory but a pre emptive strike conducted to neutralize rebel gun positions deployed in civilian settlements.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Heavily armed soldiers of the Sri lankan army advanced 2km into rebel held territory west of Mannar after breaching the LTTE forward defence lines at several locations today. 20 rebels were killed and an unknown number were injured during the offensive and the army has taken complete control over several strategic points previously held by the tigers. 4 army personnel were killed and 19 were wounded due to shrapnel damage from LTTE's retaliatory mortar fire. Army advance should not be misinterpreted as a large scale offensive as it is merely a pre emptive strike conducted to neutralize rebel guns stationed in populated areas and to prevent civilian casualties in the case of an emergency situation.

Intelligence sources have indicated that the LTTE is planning a massive attack on army positions in Vavuniya/Mannar border to regain the pride which was lost in recent Vakarai defeat. Confirming intelligence reports, LTTE deployed several heavy mortars in close proximity of populated villages in then rebel held area and fired at the army FDL using these weapons last week. It would have been catastrophic had the army retaliated these attacks using MBRL batteries as many civilian casualties were sure to be inflicted due to the manner in which the tigers deployed their heavy weapons. Instead of using long range fire the army has started a limited ground offensive to drive the LTTE away from the populated areas.

Advancing offensive fighting formations of Sri lankan army today captured the previously rebel held Ulachchi area in the eastern province. Soldeirs of the 6th Gemunu watch overran tiger positions in the east and took control of the small town yesterday.

LTTE cadres fled in the face of army assault and the fleeing terrorists had damaged several buildings which were property of Mahaweli ministry in the past. The army now has complete control over of the hospital, school, post office and the town center.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

The LTTE is one of the very few terrorist organizations that claim to have an Air Force. Their military spokesman has threatened that the LTTE will use 'Air tigers' in their assaults against the army. Is the LTTE capable of carrying a suicide attack using Aircraft? Can the LTTE air force challenge the air superiority of the SLAF?

According to a pro LTTE web site (last updated in 2001), the LTTE is claimed to posses the following aircraft and anti air guns.

2 Helicopter R44 Astro/Clipper Model and Possibly Bell 212/414

1 Mini-Helicopter

2 Light Plane Includes 1 Single-Seater Sports Plane

5 Microlight French Commercial Design

2 Ultralight Invisible to Radar

8 AA Machine Gun

4 SA-7 SAM

2 SA-14 SAM

4 Stinger SAM

Of course, most of the above stats are exaggerated. We know for a fact that the LTTE currently does not possess any functional anti air missiles of any type listed above. In addition to that, they do not have any combat capable aircraft.

However, when the LTTE launched a attack to breach Muhamalai FDL (which the army later thwarted), Tamilnet carried a news article saying that a 'tiger aircraft rocketed Palaly military base'. It was claimed by other pro LTTE media that a Cessna-150 light plane to which the tigers mounted rocket was used in the attack. Defencenet reliably learns that such an attack never occurred but the sounds of a fixed wing aircraft was heard over Palaly area. The source of the engine noise was not found.

Air surveillance over the LTTE airstrip (located near Iranamadu Irrigation tank) last year revealed tire tracks which indicated possible night time aircraft training. Later, airstrikes targeted the LTTE airstrip and Defencenet can confirm (video evidence) that bombs fell on the runway and on the buildings surrounding the airfield. Whether the airstrip has been repaired now is not known. Another airstrip which was under construction in Mullaithivu tiger held area was destroyed by Kfir bombings last year.

Even if the LTTE does have combat capable aircraft, do they have an airfield which is crucial to the operation of an 'Air Force'? Will the Air Tigers and planes be of any use without an airfield?

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

It is now a well known news story that 8 army personnel and forest department employees were ambushed and killed by the LTTE inside Vilpaththu sanctuary. After seeing the photos of the incident, we've realized that the phrase 'ambushed and killed' do not properly describe the tragic incident.

These pictures must be seen by every human rights organization, all NGOs that operate inside this country, international community and all tiger sympathizers. The pictures reveal the true mentality and the sadistic nature of the world's most brutal terrorist organization which calls itself a liberation movement.

After shooting the victims at gunpoint, the LTTE has apparently 'played' with the bodies. You can see the photos here. (We linked to LeN upload as we cannot upload 5Mpixel photos (even more gruesome) in our DC due to technical issues which have been bothering us for the last week). The bodies were found after a search operation which involved more than 600 army personnel.

In other security developments, it is suspected that the destroyed tiger arms vessels had aircraft components on board. In addition to this, ships also had a large quantity of artillery shells and explosives on board. Intelligence sources reveal that the LTTE is facing a severe shortage of arms and explosives.

Meanwhile senior LTTE leaders are said to be worried about an army operation into Mullaithiv jungle where Velupille Pirabaharan's hideout is suspected to be. LTTE has strengtherened its FDLs at Weli Oya (Manal Aru in Eelam termoinology) and have cut trenches for an additional 3rd defence line.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Two suspected Tamil tiger arms transport vessels were intercepted by the Sri Lankan navy (SLN) today at around 9.30AM and at 12.30PM. The suspected ships were detected 400Km off Pothuvil coast.

First suspicious ship was detected by SLN's offshore patrol boats patrolling the eastern seas. The ship was not able to correctly identify itself upon request of identification data. Naval vessels which tried to close in and surround the suspicious ship were hit by rounds of medium caliber armament fire. Navy returned fire and the retaliatory fire caused several explosions in the suspected ship. By 9AM the suspicious ship was completely destroyed and was submerged in the sea. Later, another ship was detected in the same area. This ship, which was traveling without a flag, fired at the SLN gunboats when ordered to identify itself. This ship too was sunk due to retaliation fire from SLN gunboats.

Judging by the explosions which occurred after the ships were hit, it can be concluded that they had a significant amount of explosives on board. Exact type of weapons which were on board is not yet determined. The first ship was 70-75m long and could carry around 1500-2000 tonnes of cargo. Second ship was smaller than the first but it had the capability to around 750-1000 tonnes of cargo.

This is the second major tiger arms transport intercepted by the Navy during the month of March. Tigers lost a $35 million (LKR 3.5 Billion) worth of arms and a $70 million (LKR 7 Billion) worth large ship in the previous incident.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Sri Lanka army's special forces units today captured LTTE's Thileepan memorial hospital in Batticaloa district. This hospital was used by the LTTE to treat cadres wounded in recent Vakarai battle. LTTE fighters who were occupying the hospital retreated in the face of special forces advance.

Inside the hospital troops found large quantities of drugs (Singhalese: Kansa) packed in bags and ready to be transported to an undisclosed location. This is further proof of previous intelligence claims which stated that tigers were engaged in illegal drug trafficking to collect funds for terror activities.

The total number of LTTE cadres lost to army's ground and aerial assaults during the Thoppigala offensive has now risen to 105. Meanwhile a dispute between eastern LTTE commanders and Wanni leadership has hampered LTTE's movements in the east. Apparently, the eastern commanders are unwilling to carry out the missions assigned by Wanni LTTE command. The dispute started when LTTE's eastern province commander Sornam fled to Wanni during the Vakarai offensive.

Meanwhile the LTTE fired 120MM mortar shells at Omanthai FDL for the 3rd day in a row. Today's attacks killed 5 army personnel and injured another 23.

Military intelligence has warned that the LTTE is planning a massive attack on Vavyniya and Mannar FDLs. SLA's recently raised 57th division, of which the Mechanized Infantry division is part of, has been deployed in Vavuniya to face an emergency situation.

Friday, March 16, 2007

The ongoing offensive to capture last major rebel base in the eastern province entered a new phase during last week as the army deployed the commando regiment to carry out pre emptive strikes on strategic tiger gathering points. The deployment comes as Special Forces units of the 1st and 2nd Special Forces regiments successfully infiltrated rebel held territory inside dense Thoppigala jungle.

The LTTE lost 25 of its eastern cadres to army's ground and aerial assaults during last week. Bodies of 7 LTTE cadres who were killed in a direct confrontation with army Commandos were handed over to the ICRC. One of the few remaining LTTE leaders, Nagesh, was also reported to have received non fatal injuries in this firefight. 4 more LTTE cadres who were spying on Black Bridge and Monkey Bridge army camps were sniped by army Snipers. In addition to the ground attacks, the Air Force carried out several airstrikes on pre identified locations in Thoppigala area. Damages caused by these airstrikes are not yet verifiable.

LTTE's much feared Jeyanthan Brigade has not been able to prevent the army Special Forces operations inside rebel held area so far.

Monday, March 12, 2007

A claymore mine set off by the Sri lanka army's deep penetration unit known as the Long Range Recon Patrol damaged a tractor transporting LTTE cadres in Nandunkerni (Wanni District- rebel held area) on the 10th. The attack killed a senior LTTE leader and wounded 5 others.

The perished LTTE leader is identified as Major Kannan. Kannan was a specialist in advanced weaponry and weapons training. Wounded LTTE cadres are said to be receiving treatment in Mullaithiv hostipal.

This is the third claymore explosion which went of in this area during the last few weeks. LTTE senior leadership has restricted public appearances in the face of increased DPU attacks conducted by the army. They have also deployed special teams to search and destroy DPU members but this has not lead to any success so far.

The army's deep penetration unit (LRRP) is said to be one of the most succesful Long Range Surveillance (LRS) units in the world. LRRP units boast kill ratios as high as 300 LTTE cadres for 1 LRRP member.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

2 days ago, civilians in LTTE held areas in and around Thoppigala began fleeing their homes and took refugee in government controlled areas in Batticaloa. This was because they saw the signs of the forthcoming major battle and did not want to be used again as human shields by the LTTE.

The army seems to be engaging in the operation to liberate Thoppigala according to a well devised plan. Firstly, long range artillery fire and airstrikes took known rebel positions deep inside the jungles. During last week, regualr infantry units conducted pre emptive strikes on strategic locations in the east and captured them. The operation has now reached the most decisive phase. It is this phase which triggered the mass civilian exodus during the last few days.

Civilians saw heavily armed personnel, clad in jungle uniforms and wearing black clothes around their heads, entering the jungles of Thoppigala. These men were moving in groups of 4 and 8. The civilians had seen none other than the Sri lanka army's elite Special Forces units preparing to infiltrate rebel defence lines. Special Forces will play a major role in softening up the tigers till the final thrust is made using regular infantry and mechanized units.

Meanwhile intelligence information suggests that LTTE has deployed it's elite Jeyanthan brigade to hunt down any SF personnel who infiltrated their defenses. Jeyanthan brigade fled in disarray when a 40 man Special Forces squad carried out a legendary amphibious assault on Vakarai town center during Vakarai offensive. SF was able to capture the Vakarai hospital within 5 minutes in this assault.

What will happen when Special Forces and Jeyanthan brigade meets for a second time in dense jungles of Thoppigala? Will SF be able to rout the tigers once more? Will the tigers use jungle terrain to their advantage? Only time will tell.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Sri lankan army's two day long offensive to capture LTTE bases in the Peraru (Trincomalee North) region ended with success today. All LTTE bases which were used as gathering points by fighters of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were overrun by SLA infantry units in the operation.

LTTE bases were subjected to heavy artillery and MBRL shelling before infantry movement began. There was minimal close combat as most of the tigers had fled the bases when the SLA units reaches them. However bloodstains, bandages and pain killers were scattered all over the bases indicating that the artillery batteries had fired with precision.

Further north of Peraru region is the Mullaithivu district.

Meanwhile, troops on the march towards Thoppigala continued the operation for the second day. A total of 10 LTTE fighters have been killed in this operation so far and further 17 are said to be wounded.

Pro LTTE media have once again falsely reported that the tigers have thwarted the army operation. This is not the case and the army offensive has not met any stiff tiger resistance yet and is going on according to plan.

However, LTTE offered heavy resistance to the Special Task Force when they tried to advance into rebel held territory in Pullumalai. 12 STF personnel were injured and 3 were killed in this incident.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Infantry units of the Sri Lankan army's offensive formations have started advancing towards Thoppigala; the last major rebel base in the eastern province. Thousands of infantry units backed by Multi Barrel Rocket fire and 130/152MM artillery fire, launched a two pronged assault into the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled territory. Latest news (unconfirmed) from the battlefield indicate that a large scale rebel surrendering is possible.

It is reliably learnt by Defencenet that nearly 800 LTTE cadres are trapped inside the jungles of Thoppigala. With the capture of Vakarai, the last sea tiger base in the eastern region fell and now LTTE does not have any sea based supply/escape route that links to North. All senior LTTE eastern province leaders (Except Nagesh) have either been assassinated by LRRP or have fled to Wanni.

Situation Update

Unconfirmed reports from the battlefield indicate that the LTTE is using loudspeakers to prevent a mass surrendering. The operation is going on according to plan. Further information cannot be revealed as of now.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Rebel vehicle movement from Mallavi to Palappani was interrupted due to the claymore mine explosion set off by the LRRP. The actual target or the result of this DPU attack cannot be revealed for security reasons. LRRP activity in the Mullaithivu region has vastly increased during the recent past. Many unexplained claymore explosions have been occurring in the Mullaithivu in recent past and most of these targeted tiger intelligence wing members.

Mullaithivu is a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) stronghold which is highly fortified and it is guarded by elite tiger infantry units.

Meanwhile, SLAF Kfir bombers today carried out a bombing sorties over Vallipunam (also located in Mullaithivu district). Target of the air raid was an LTTE training base. LTTE casualty details due to this attacks are yet to be known.

Monday, March 5, 2007

The Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) received an early tip off against the rebel arms vessel which was destroyed in the seas off Matara recently. The ship had more than 10000 artillery shells and other ammunition. The Navy also suspects that anti aircraft missiles were also on board. It would have been catastrophic for the army if the guerrillas were able to smuggle the arms into rebel held territory.

The early tip off came from Indonesia. We cannot revel the exact source as it would jeopardize national security. The ship was launched from the infamous Surabaya port in Indonesia. Most terrorist organization in the Asian region launch their arms transport vessels from Surabaya region. Another rebel arms vessel which was inbound from Surabaya port was destroyed by the navy few months ago.

Security in the southern seas was nevertheless tightened after the failed LTTE assault on SLN's Dakshina base in Galle.

Friday, March 2, 2007

The Srilankan army today attacked a pre identified rebel gathering point in Thoppigala, using warplanes and long range artillery systems. Intercepted LTTE communication after the attack has revealed that a 'significant' number of rebels were wounded due to the attacks.

Initially, Sri Lankan air force fighter jets bombed the target with precision. The aircraft used in this attack were of type MiG27. It is the second consecutive day in which new MiGs were used for aerial bombings. Geographical position of Thoppigala area makes it harder for high altitude bombers such as Kfir's to make precision hits. This is the reason why MiGs are used to carry out bombing sorties over locations deep inside dense jungles of Thoppigala.

The aerial attacks were followed up by one of the heaviest artillery barrages in recent weeks. Rocket regiments's primary weapon, the MBRLs (Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher) were used to direct a devastating rocket attack towards the LTTE target. An MBRL can fire a total of 40 rockets within a very short period of time with high accuracy. The army owns more than (50) 120MM and 127MM Czech/Pakistani built MBRLs. Military intelligence suspects that the rebels in Thoppigala area have access to (2) Russian built Katyusha type multiple rocket launchers. These can only fire a total of 6/12 rockets per round and the barrel size is 107MM.

After the attack, intercepted LTTE communications revealed that at least 31 cadres are seriously wounded. Out of the 31, 14 are said to be women LTTE fighters. Rebels were heard repeatedly pleading with eastern LTTE command for tractors and vans to transport casualties.

Military strategy to capture Thoppigala is clear. First soften LTTE up with long range fire and then deploy infantry resources. So far, this has worked well.

Today was a bad day for the Sri Lankan air force. One of their trainee aircraft crashed killing the pilot and the instructor, rendering the crashed plane unusable. However, this did not stop them from using the new Mig27's to blast a rebel training base off the map.

Meanwhile, the Navy now suspects that the destroyed tiger arms vessel had anti aircraft missiles on board along with artillery shells. The tigers have unsuccessfully tried several times, to acquire SA-18 missiles to counter SLAF threat. Was this another fruitless attempt?

Since the Kfir bombers usually bomb from high altitude, the chance of SA-18 missiles hitting a Kfir is 30%. The risk is higher with the MiG's. However, the fact remains that the tigers still have no answer other than digging deeper tunnels to counter SLAF's air supoeriority over Srilankan skies.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

A Sri Lanka air force training aircraft crashed into the runway of Anuradhapura AB today at around 12 noon. The tragic incident resulted in the death of one trainee pilot and a flight instructor.
The aircraft which crashed, which is of type PT6, is damaged beyond repair. PT6 aircraft are used by the SLAF exculsively for training purposes.
The cause of the crash is suspected to be a technical failure. Investigations are going on.

It is now confirmed that the vessel sunk this morning by SLN off Matara seas was carrying at least 10,000 artillery shells for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) military machine. SLN fast attack craft (FAC) engaged and destroyed the ship today morning when it didn't comply to SLN command and instead opened fire on nearby FAC's.

Navy divers have managed to find several boxes of artillery shells, which were designed for the use with 152MM, 130MM and 122MM artillery guns. Judging by the explosions that occurred when the vessel caught fire, it is assumed that at least 10,000 artillery shells were on board. Last night's sea battle (see previous article) is suspected to be a diversionary tactic of the tigers.

The LTTE is in possession of at least (3) 152MM artillery guns (3 captured from SLA when Elephant Pass fell), (6) 122MM artillery guns (6 captured from SLA when Mullathiv base fell) and (4) 130MM artillery guns. Recently, 53rd division HQ came under 130MM artillery fire. More than 30 shells were fired and 17 of these fell inside base premises. Later it was identified by SLA that 130MM fire came from four different locations. Therefore the LTTE is suspected to be in possession of at least (4) 130MM artillery guns. Other than these, an unknown number of artillery guns are speculated to be smuggled in by the tigers during the 2002-2005 period under the cover of the CFA. Intelligence sources indicate that several of these guns were lost to the recent airstrikes by the SLAF. It is not possible to give exact details of the LTTE artillery strength. SL army, in contrast, have more than 200 artillery guns in various bases in north and east.

However, all artillery guns belonging to LTTE in the eastern province have been either captured or destroyed by the SL armed forces. (3) 152MM guns and parts of two 122MM cannons were found by the Special Forces during Vakarai operation. One of the 122MM guns is speculated to be destroyed by a Commando Unit of the Karuna Faction (TMVP).